Procter & Gamble’s skincare brand Olay is joining the onslaught of other beauty brands in leveraging mobile to assist in product recommendations with a new mobile tool.

Announced at Mobile World Congress, Olay has launched an online tool for mobile devices in which users can fill out a survey and capture a photo to receive product recommendations. Users can purchase products through the online portal via retailer affiliates.

Olay innovation
Beauty fans now have a wide range of tools at their fingers tips through mobile devices to make more informed purchasing decisions. Olay is hoping to join this trend with its Olay Skin Advisor.

The Skin Advisor lives online but is only able to be accessed through mobile devices. Users can visit skinadvisor.olay.com on their browsers within their mobile devices.

Olay then requires users to go through various steps so that they can receive personalized attention. The online portal gives users options to complete a wide range of tasks.

When users first visit the portal, they can choose from four different options such as analyze my skin, improve my skin, discover the latest in skin care and find the right products for me.

With each option, Olay Skin Advisor first asks users to take a photo and enter in information such as age, skin concerns, skin type, products used, how many products used, if you use SPF, how you like your skin to feel and preference of scent. Then the portal analyzes the photo and assigns a “skin age,” as well as the user’s best and improvement areas.

The Olay Skin Advisor then congregates a series of products that can help with the user’s problem areas. Interested shoppers can click the product for more information and click on the symbol for the retailer of their choice such as Target or Walmart to purchase.

Beauty and mobile
Similarly, Meitu, a beauty application provider, started letting consumers virtually try on makeup through its app before purchasing with the help of celebrity beauty blogger Lisa Eldridge.

Ms. Eldridge designed new looks which will be featured on the app. Customers can use the app’s virtual try on feature to see what each product would hypothetically look like when applied to their skin (see more).

Hair color manufacturer Clairol also leveraged mobile technology to bring CPG brands closer to the consumer by allowing users to virtually try on hair colors before purchasing.

Beauty fans can test out hair colors to see what they look like before making the big commitment to dyeing their hair with Clairol’s new augmented reality app. Created by the technology developer behind Sephora’s augmented technology, the MyShade app allows users to browse various colors from Clairol by integrating the hair colors onto their photos (see more).